Aaron Portzline reporting that Ryan Johansen is again scratched tonight. At this point, it looks like the team is just using him to practice with them and will send him back to juniors for another season.

Haven't had a chance to sit down and watch a game. Planning to do so tonight.

A God Damn dead man would understand that if a minor league bus in any city took a real sharp right turn, a Zack McCalister would likely fall out. - Lead Pipe

I've watched both games and their offense looks potent when they can actually get it in the offensive zone. To be fair, it doesn't help when you're on the PK at least half the game. The things we worried about before the season are still obvious - this team lacks defenseman that have any ability at moving the puck up ice. Kris Russell should be sent down, traded, or whatever can be done with his contract. He's lost and is a turnover machine. Johansen has skill, but the level of play is too fast for him. No surprise there and he'll need some seasoning before playing a full year in the pros. Mason hasn't looked to good either. Slow left to right, but at least he isn't overcommiting like he did last year. Still, 2 of Minny's goals on Saturday night had to be stopped and he failed to get the job done and was pulled in the third period. Overall, the offense doesn't worry me a bit with/without Johan up here, its the D and most importantly, Mason who will determine where the CBJ end up.

"All Beckett needs to do to cap off this mess is order some fried chicken and beer" – 5/10/12 before Beckett got chased in the 3rd at Fenway.

RickNashEquilibrium wrote:To be fair, it doesn't help when you're on the PK at least half the game.

They have 11 PPs to 7 for the opponents through two games. Difference is, their opponents are 3/7 and they're 0/11. Speaks to a lack of skill on the blue line. Powerplays absolutely must run through the defensemen. They have to direct traffic and find shooting lanes. Columbus lacks that guy right now without Wisniewski.

The things we worried about before the season are still obvious - this team lacks defenseman that have any ability at moving the puck up ice. Kris Russell should be sent down, traded, or whatever can be done with his contract. He's lost and is a turnover machine.

He gets into the syndrome of trying to do too much. He has to play a simplified game, make good decisions with the puck, and focus on a good first pass. It's true of all defensemen, but especially of those with good offensive talent. To counteract the lack of puck movers, based on what Portzline said, the Blue Jackets have been trying a lot of two-zone stretch passes. Those are very easy to defend and almost never work because the forwards have to tip the puck deep and give up possession because of the opposing defenseman's pressure.

Johansen has skill, but the level of play is too fast for him. No surprise there and he'll need some seasoning before playing a full year in the pros.

Skating was my issue with him the two times I saw him in camp. He's got a bit of an awkward stride. It doesn't really lend itself to the faster-paced game. Good observation on your part.

He also needs to learn his limitations. He can't outskate guys at this level. That's where upper body strength comes in. He has the frame for it, but he needs to get stronger. I'm not sure another year in juniors helps him get stronger. I'd rather they deal with his development issues and let him play. Many of the high draftees from the last three years are playing in the NHL and thriving because they were able to play and make mistakes for an entire season first.

Mason hasn't looked to good either. Slow left to right, but at least he isn't overcommiting like he did last year. Still, 2 of Minny's goals on Saturday night had to be stopped and he failed to get the job done and was pulled in the third period. Mason who will determine where the CBJ end up.

He's a huge problem going forward. His rebound control is lacking and without physical defensemen, the problem is exacerbated. Was watching Portzline's Twitter feed Saturday and there were a couple rebound goals.

It's a catch-22. If the forwards collapse to help with rebounds, they can't leave the zone because the defensemen aren't skilled enough. If the forwards stay out high to catch breakout passes, the defensemen get worked over in front. Mason's job is to cover as many pucks as possible for faceoffs. With Vermette, Carter, and Pahlsson, they're one of the top three teams in the West (IMO) on faceoffs. Take your chances with winning them.

Plenty of ingredients in the cupboard. They just need to put them together.

A God Damn dead man would understand that if a minor league bus in any city took a real sharp right turn, a Zack McCalister would likely fall out. - Lead Pipe

RickNashEquilibrium wrote:I've watched both games and their offense looks potent when they can actually get it in the offensive zone. To be fair, it doesn't help when you're on the PK at least half the game. The things we worried about before the season are still obvious - this team lacks defenseman that have any ability at moving the puck up ice. Kris Russell should be sent down, traded, or whatever can be done with his contract. He's lost and is a turnover machine. Johansen has skill, but the level of play is too fast for him. No surprise there and he'll need some seasoning before playing a full year in the pros. Mason hasn't looked to good either. Slow left to right, but at least he isn't overcommiting like he did last year. Still, 2 of Minny's goals on Saturday night had to be stopped and he failed to get the job done and was pulled in the third period. Overall, the offense doesn't worry me a bit with/without Johan up here, its the D and most importantly, Mason who will determine where the CBJ end up.

Carter was drilling shots vs Gashville, Rinne was just making great saves. The offense will be fine, no worries there.. Other than Tyutin, and he is ok at best, the D is fucking bad. They're going to have to to win A LOT of 5-4 games.

Wisniewski should make a substantial difference, but if they're 2-6 when he comes back, they've already dug themselves a hole. In the era of three-point games (the OTL loser point), you can't put yourself in a position to play catch up.

Obviously it's really early. We'll see what they do against a really good Vancouver team tonight with their backup playing.

A God Damn dead man would understand that if a minor league bus in any city took a real sharp right turn, a Zack McCalister would likely fall out. - Lead Pipe

I was at the game last night, I thought Mason looked OK, out of the three goals Vancouver scored I think only one can be directly attributed to Mason (The Power play goal after the poor deflection).Whats beyond frustrating is they are three games into the season , and have yet to have a power play goal. 0-for-16 on power plays to start the season, CBJ got to be getting close to a record in futility.

"I don't think they're building chemical weapons in Berea. But they might be. I can't say for sure."Chuck Klosterman

1 shot in the third period while protecting a 2-1 lead. Johansen and Savard 5 shifts combined in the final 25 minutes. This team's got some serious issues.

Portzline retweeted this:

LoveRob10TVSports Rob Kunz by AportzlineThrough 4 games, the #CBJ top line of Nash, Carter & Prospal have combined for 4-8-12. The rest of the TEAM is 4-5-9

On one hand, there's hope that the top line can help carry them. On another hand, they need secondary scoring badly. Might be time to break up Carter and Nash. Hate to lose their collective production, but they need to sprinkle talent throughout the lineup.

A God Damn dead man would understand that if a minor league bus in any city took a real sharp right turn, a Zack McCalister would likely fall out. - Lead Pipe

I agree with Portzline, you have to break up the Carter/Nash connection. They're not playing like shit, they just aren't getting the timely goal, and if they do they turtle up and put it all on Mason and the blah defense.

Howson's going to panic and do something stupid. His head is on the chopping block. At the rate they are going right now , I wouldn't be surprised if he got shit caned before Xmas.

I wish you knew what scouts where at that game because the name I keep hearing in CBJ trade rumors is Kyle Turris

He did mention that 4 teams had 2 scouts there last night. "Toronto, Tampa Bay, Winnipeg, Ottawa have two scouts in Nationwide."

And how much does Kyle Turris really help us? I don't know much about him, but it seems that the D is the real problem on this team.

The fact that the Senators where representited intrests me because they are activily shopping Sergei Gonchar (D), and Toronto is supposedly trying to move Tyler Bozak (C)and package him with a few expendable defenders they have.

Its comforting that the teams scouting us (with the exception of Tampa Bay) are all more likely to be sellers , not buyers. Its nice to know the Jackets have not necessarily thrown in the towel just yet.

This from Michael Arace "This much is for sure: Most nights, there are five or six scouts on hand, and last night there were 27, an unofficial record."

"I don't think they're building chemical weapons in Berea. But they might be. I can't say for sure."Chuck Klosterman

skatingtripods wrote:1 shot in the third period while protecting a 2-1 lead. Johansen and Savard 5 shifts combined in the final 25 minutes. This team's got some serious issues.

I'm on board with the issue being defense. I was glued to that game last night (viewed on a live stream) and its frustrating to see these guys try to get the puck up the ice. The first pass, or lack there of, is killing them. On the PP, spacing up the ice is a huge problem as well. More than once I saw the wing, center, and a dman go up ice within arms length of each other. When trying to move the puck, they are clogging up the neutral zone which is limiting their options to get into the zone. Arniel should be hung to dry for tightening down in the 3rd because we simply do not have the talent on the blueline to hold leads. I don't care how good Nash, Brassard, and Vinny's two-way game is, you do not lean on the weakest link of your team, especially when you're winning.

My biggest beef overall is the void of physicality. Mason is getting screened and pushed around when the puck is in the defensive zone and Jan Hedja's goal (not sure if they gave it to Landeskog) was due entirely to that. We are giving the other team way too much space to operate at or below the goalline (same reason Halischuk scored in the Nashville game). Very very frustrating to watch. If Arniel's plan was to create an up tempo, forechecking style, then damnit you have to push it when the other team is susceptible. Varlomov was giving up rebounds and taking bad angles the whole 2nd period and we hardly challenged him in the 3rd. Pathetic, badly coached hockey and much of the same crap we've seen for 4 years.

"All Beckett needs to do to cap off this mess is order some fried chicken and beer" – 5/10/12 before Beckett got chased in the 3rd at Fenway.

Cerebral_DownTime wrote:I agree with Portzline, you have to break up the Carter/Nash connection. They're not playing like shit, they just aren't getting the timely goal, and if they do they turtle up and put it all on Mason and the blah defense.

Gotta do it. Brassard not reaching his potential has killed this team offensively because they don't have a 2nd line scoring center.

GovBarney wrote:Howson's going to panic and do something stupid. His head is on the chopping block. At the rate they are going right now , I wouldn't be surprised if he got shit caned before Xmas.

I think Howson's job is perfectly safe. He made some great moves last offseason and some really great moves this offseason. Let's be honest, what the Jackets needed wasn't really available. And if it was, it was out of their price range.

I wish you knew what scouts where at that game because the name I keep hearing in CBJ trade rumors is Kyle Turris

Turris is another smallish, skilled, good skating forward. They have plenty of those and it's not working.

RickNashEquilibrium wrote:On the PP, spacing up the ice is a huge problem as well. More than once I saw the wing, center, and a dman go up ice within arms length of each other.

There's a reason for this, I think. The defensemen cannot effectively QB a powerplay. The hope is that, off the rush, they can isolate one of the defensemen for a 2-on-1 and if the weak-side defenseman slides over, there will be a trailer waiting for a pass and an open shot.

The problem with this theory is that it's easy to defend because the trailing forward should already be picked up by the opposition.

I'm not sure I'd put the blame on Arniel. He doesn't have the right roster and has to fight with himself to put something together. Who, besides Carter, can actually center Nash? I think Grant Clitsome still leads the team in ATOI (average time on ice).

The lack of physicality is on Howson. Even Boll wouldn't really make a difference.

They have to find their identity. They can't play a tight-checking game and they can't play a speed and skill game. There's a medium in there somewhere.

A God Damn dead man would understand that if a minor league bus in any city took a real sharp right turn, a Zack McCalister would likely fall out. - Lead Pipe

Craig Custance Blog on ESPN had a lengthy article about giving up on Mason , and aiming for one of these three gentleman in a trade:

Al Montoya, New York Islanders Jonathan Bernier, Los Angeles KingsCory Schneider, Canucks (Who we would have to give up a kings ransom for)

My question is would a different goalie really have changed all that much?Scores to the last 4 CBJ games: 3-2,4-2,3-2,3-2. Now I am not saying Mason is the second coming of Patrick Roy, but a winning hockey team has to occasionally score more then 2 goals.

Bottom line, right now Mason is not the problem. 0-20 on PPs is.

"I don't think they're building chemical weapons in Berea. But they might be. I can't say for sure."Chuck Klosterman

Govbarney wrote:My question is would a different goalie really have changed all that much?Scores to the last 4 CBJ games: 3-2,4-2,3-2,3-2. Now I am not saying Mason is the second coming of Patrick Roy, but a winning hockey team has to occasionally score more then 2 goals.

Bottom line, right now Mason is not the problem. 0-20 on PPs is.

No, but a team has to trust that their goaltender can win a 2-1 game. Columbus has been been down 1-0 in 3 of 4 and in the Vancouver game, Mason gave up the tying goal on Vancouver's second shot of the game after the Jackets controlled the entire first period.

Goalies have to build confidence for their team. Mason's yet to do that. It doesn't mean that somebody else could, but, he isn't exempt from blame.

A God Damn dead man would understand that if a minor league bus in any city took a real sharp right turn, a Zack McCalister would likely fall out. - Lead Pipe

Govbarney wrote:Craig Custance Blog on ESPN had a lengthy article about giving up on Mason , and aiming for one of these three gentleman in a trade:

Al Montoya, New York Islanders Jonathan Bernier, Los Angeles KingsCory Schneider, Canucks (Who we would have to give up a kings ransom for)

My question is would a different goalie really have changed all that much?Scores to the last 4 CBJ games: 3-2,4-2,3-2,3-2. Now I am not saying Mason is the second coming of Patrick Roy, but a winning hockey team has to occasionally score more then 2 goals.

Bottom line, right now Mason is not the problem. 0-20 on PPs is.

I'd love to see them go after Bernier.

"It's like dating a woman who hates you so much she will never break up with you, even if you burn down the house every single autumn." ~ Chuck Klosterman on Browns fans relationship with the Browns

You would think by reading the fan posts, and blogs here in Cbus that the Jackets where 0-81-1. Funny thing b/c of a scheduling quirk they win tomorrow and they are already in a three or 4 way tie for the 7th or 8th spot. I am not giving up on this team I have seen to many positive signs even in these losses. 0-20 on PPs, while not good, has got to be a statistical anomaly...right...?

"I don't think they're building chemical weapons in Berea. But they might be. I can't say for sure."Chuck Klosterman

Calvert sent down. Arniel wants more "stiffness" in the lineup. Imagine that means Cody Bass.

I feel bad for Arniel. He doesn't know what he wants to do. He wants to play a skill game and doesn't have the puck moving defensemen to do it. He wants to play a tougher game and they clearly can't do that.

Vermette's been a bust. Brassard's been a bust. Man, it doesn't look good.

A God Damn dead man would understand that if a minor league bus in any city took a real sharp right turn, a Zack McCalister would likely fall out. - Lead Pipe

I hope I'm wrong, but I just don't think Mason is the guy. Too stiff, overcommits, way too many soft goals. Makes some spectacular saves too ... but its been a while now since that rookie season. Hate selling low, but I think the time has come to move on at goalie once Dekanich gets back.

"It's like dating a woman who hates you so much she will never break up with you, even if you burn down the house every single autumn." ~ Chuck Klosterman on Browns fans relationship with the Browns

StewieG wrote:So...how good are the prospects at the top of the draft shaping up to be?

NHL draft is a lottery so assuming the CBJ are lucky enough to at least get a top 3 pick, the three names that keep popping up on the web as the best prospects in next years draft are: Nail Yakupoz F OHLRyan Murrey. D WHLMikhail Grigorenko. F CSKA Moscow (said to be the closest to being NHL ready)

YouTube has got good video on all three. My early personal favorite is Ryan Murrey.

"I don't think they're building chemical weapons in Berea. But they might be. I can't say for sure."Chuck Klosterman

StewieG wrote:Ryan Johansen is going to stick with the team for the rest of the season. His 10 game limit on whether he was going to return to the juniors or stick with the big club was just about up.

I get why this is a big deal, but frankly if he is good enough , the CBJ have the upper hand at resigning him/And my guess is the new CBA will favor the owners more then it does the players (even though that might cost us a hockey season next year). Making it more likely they can re-sign him. Granted regardless they will have to pay out the ass, but if he is good enough to earn that money fuck it.

Cerebral_DownTime wrote:If Hitch comes back that means Howson is gone, no? I get what Nasher is saying, but this team was built on finesse. They can't be what they aren't.

Yeah Howson is as dead as Good Friday if Arniel gets shit canned. I don't know how I feel about Hitch coming back, he was let go for loosing the locker room because he is a grade A asswhole, but maybe this team needs a asswhole...

"I don't think they're building chemical weapons in Berea. But they might be. I can't say for sure."Chuck Klosterman

Arniel lost two assistant coaches who had a ton of NHL experience and were probably very respected in the locker room. That really hasn't helped. Again, I'm not making excuses, this is just a fact.

I think Arniel's days are numbered because you can't fire the players. What Nash was doing was calling out his teammates to play more physical, not taking a shot at the front office or the coach. I don't think Nash has ever been critical of the front office and now's a weird time to start.

If I'm Hitchcock, I don't want the job. They didn't want me before and now they want me back?

Keeping Johansen is the right move because they have nothing else. He's playing well now, but can it keep up? I don't know. Moore's doing the same thing. They may just be getting comfortable and letting their skill and instincts take over.

Still looks grim. Back to being a terrible road team. The matchups with having the first change are killing them.

A God Damn dead man would understand that if a minor league bus in any city took a real sharp right turn, a Zack McCalister would likely fall out. - Lead Pipe

Nash signed up for this. He could have had his freedom two summers ago. The interest would have been overwhelming. The contract would have been eclipsed Kovalchuk’s by millions of dollars. If he didn’t want the pressure of a massive market, why not Long Island — let John Tavares be your centre? Nashville, even? Play with Shea Weber, Ryan Suter, and Pekka Rinne? The options were endless. But Nash is stuck with this dead atmosphere, the looming (easy, people) presence of Ken Hitchcock, and the only meaningful hockey he likely plays in the next five years will be potentially in Sochi 2014 and at various World Championships. Rick Nash wanted this. He bought in. And as we’ve learned, even with our financial world’s circumstances the last three years, there’s very few free bailouts.

Can someone who knows hockey explain why we keep giving up goals in the first 5 minutes like we have been? Does Mason suck as badly as he looks to a person who doesn't know much about hockey?

From what I've seen, it looks like our goaltending has been the real weakness; we're usually aggressive and making shots, so the offense looks like it could be good enough, especially if we had Carter. But we're always playing from behind, which can't be good.

I haven't been able to watch any of the games (Thanks NHL!) but I've been keeping up with the stats. It seems like Mason hasn't been very good, but some of that can be attributed to the defense blowing chunks. Portzline tweeted that on the first goal tonight for Philly, the guy was left completely open, no defenders anywhere near him. It also sounds like we're getting our fair share of shots, but most of them are of the "fling them at the net and hope one goes in" variety, rather than working on creating quality shots. But like I said, I haven't been able to actually watch the games, so maybe someone else can give a better idea.

bac5665 wrote:Can someone who knows hockey explain why we keep giving up goals in the first 5 minutes like we have been? Does Mason suck as badly as he looks to a person who doesn't know much about hockey?

Lack of focus and preparation. Team feels like they're beaten before they even walk on the ice. It's not a room full of character. There's a lot of docile personalities in the room.